I was reading the Hawaiian Airlines inflight magazine (it’s pretty good actually) and there was an ad on the back cover for TS Restaurant Group. We are no strangers to TS but I didn’t realize just how familiar with them we really are until I started looking at the locations.
One by one I checked them off and realized that we have eaten at every single one of their Hawaii restaurants. More than once in most cases. Actually more than twice at most! They do tend to have well placed restaurants, and they have decent food at decent prices.
On the inside of the same magazine I ran across an ad for Roy’s… And son of a bitch! We’ve eaten at every damn one! Of course Roy’s does not have decent food at decent prices. They have spectacular food at obscene prices. Now I’m hungry!
I’ve never eaten at Roy’s in Hawaii, but my experience at the Baltimore Roy’s was not good at all. The bartender made my drink the wrong way, and then argued with me about it. The food was blah and overpriced. The waiter forgot one of my items, but didn’t forget to put it on the bill. The only Hawaiian theme I noticed was the music in the men’s room. No more Roy’s for me.
Of course, it was Roy’s of Balto
That’s terrible when you have a bad experience like that at what should be such a great restaurant. We’ve had nothing but amazing experiences, even at the Kaanapali Maui location which had only been open for a few days. This Roy’s, BTW, is also my least favorite in terms of ambiance. It’s basically a golf club and overlooks the Kaanapali course, which is pretty enough, but golf is not our thing.
But let’s talk about Pacific-O on Maui. Fabulous food, hefty prices, but well worth it. The ambiance (dining sunset waveside) was superb. And Oh! Executive chef James MacDonald! He can cook for me anytime!
Agreed! Fresh ingredients, the farm, the location… Great spot!
I. too, have eaten at Pacific-O. If I recall correctly, I had some sort of ying-yang sashimi, with a creme brule in a pineapple ring for dessert. Of course, my dining companion was the star of the show! The sunset paled in comparison (especially because it was after dark).